MELBOURNE, Fla. - The Sunshine State Conference released its 2023 preseason coaches' poll. Nova Southeastern was picked fifth in the men's and women's cross-country preseason poll. The Sharks men collected 19 total points and the women notched 18 in the projected order of finish voting.
Last season on the women's side, NSU earned 3rd place at the SSC Cross Country Championship, the highest finish for either program since the 2012 season. Kamila Soja led the way, finishing third with a time of 22:39.6, her time was not only a personal best by a wide margin but was the highest individual finish for an NSU Shark in the last five years. Eden Toal was right behind her, claiming eighth place and a new personal record in the event, running 22:47.6.
David Mahnke and Joseph Salerno, led the men's side last season, Salerno was the highest finisher at the championship meet, finishing 25th with a personal best of 27:22.0. While Mahnke paced the Sharks all season, Mahnke ran the third fastest 8k time in school history earlier in the season at the STU Bobcat.
Below are the full results of the 2023 SSC preseason coaches' poll. Coaches cannot vote for their teams (points: 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1, first-place votes in parentheses).
2023 SSC WOMEN'S CROSS COUNTRY PRESEASON COACHES POLL
| Rank |
Team |
Total (First Place Votes) |
| 1 |
Tampa |
34 (4) |
| 2 |
Palm Beach Atlantic |
32 (3) |
| 3 |
Embry-Riddle |
23 |
| 4 |
Florida Southern |
22 |
| 5 |
Nova Southeastern |
18 |
| 6 |
Lynn |
11 |
| 7 |
Barry |
7 |
2023 SSC MEN'S CROSS COUNTRY PRESEASON COACHES POLL
| Rank |
School |
Total (First Place Votes) |
| 1 |
Embry-Riddle |
49 (7) |
| 2 |
Florida Southern |
40 (1) |
| 3 |
Tampa |
38 |
| 4 |
Palm Beach Atlantic |
33 |
| 5 |
Nova Southeastern |
19 |
| 6 |
Lynn |
18 |
| 7 |
Barry |
14 |
| 8 |
Florida Tech |
13 |
The Nova Southeastern Sharks kick off their 2023 season at Florida Atlantic University on Friday, Sept. 1.
To stay up-to-date on Sharks Cross Country, be sure to follow on Instagram and Twitter at NSU_XCTF.
